This open access book adopts a cultural sociology of materiality to explore the hallmark of the female athlete: the ponytail. Studying a wealth of news articles about ponytails in sports and society, Broch uncovers this hairstyle’s polyvocality and argues that it is a total social phenomenon. By separating his approach from the cultural studies tradition, Broch highlights how hair is imbued with codes, narratives, and myth that allow its wearers to understand, maneuver, and criticize social gender relations in deeply personal ways. Using multiple theories about hair, bodies, myths, and icons, he creates a multidimensional method to show how icons are imitated and used. As women navigate their practical lives, health issues, and gendered expectations, the ponytail materializes their dynamic maneuvering of cultural and social environments. Sporting a ponytail—itself an embodiment of movement—is filled with a performativity of social movements: a cultural kinetics that is never apolitical.

• Distinction from Cultural Studies: Differentiates from traditional cultural studies by emphasizing how hair is loaded with codes and myths that inform wearers’ understanding of gender relations.

• Multidimensional Approach: Utilizes multiple theories related to hair, bodies, myths, and icons to illustrate how icons like the ponytail are imitated and employed in various contexts.
• Dynamic Maneuvering: Explores how women use the ponytail to navigate practical life, health concerns, and gendered expectations, embodying their engagement with cultural and social environments.
• Performative Aspects: Highlights that sporting a ponytail represents movement and embodies a performativity tied to social movements, underscoring its political significance.
• Apolitical Notion Challenged: Argues that the cultural kinetics of the ponytail is inherently political, reflecting broader societal dynamics.